We are hiring! Apply below:
Advanced Research Scientist: The successful applicant will be expected to computationally analyze transcriptomes generated from seagrass undergoing viral infection compared to those without viruses, under different salinity and temperature conditions. https://fa-ewkd-saasfaprod1.fa.ocs.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/CandidateExperience/en/sites/USF/job/41670/?utm_medium=jobshare&utm_source=External+Job+Share
Senior Research Scientist: The successful applicant for this full-time position will be responsible for independently conducting laboratory and field research in marine microbiology and genomics, computational research including bioinformatic sequence analyses and statistics, writing manuscripts and grant proposals, and training graduate and undergraduate students. Specific research projects can vary within the lab’s research domain (www.marine.usf.edu/genomics/). https://fa-ewkd-saasfaprod1.fa.ocs.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/CandidateExperience/en/sites/USF/job/41671/?utm_medium=jobshare&utm_source=External+Job+Share
Postdoctoral Researcher: The successful applicant will be expected to isolate, grow, enumerate, and purify phage that infect the marine bacterium Vibrio natriegens under trace metal clean conditions. Through close collaboration with Dr. Kristen Buck’s laboratory at Oregon State University, this project will test the hypothesis that marine phage incorporate iron into their structures and represent a significant form of organic dissolved iron in the oceans. https://fa-ewkd-saasfaprod1.fa.ocs.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/CandidateExperience/en/sites/USF/job/41198/?utm_medium=jobshare&utm_source=External+Job+Share
Graduate Student: I am planning on accepting one new graduate student in 2026 to work on an NSF-funded project studying the biology of a ciliate that causes disease in the sea urchin Diadema. Marine mass mortality events can drastically alter the structure and function of marine habitats, shifting the balance between organisms and leading to ecosystem degradation. The long-spined sea urchin Diadema antillarum plays a critical role in Caribbean coral reefs by maintaining the balance between corals and algae. Mass mortality of this urchin species in 1982-1983 due to an unknown pathogen led to region-wide coral decline with long-lasting effects. In 2022, another mass die-off occurred, this time linked to a pathogenic ciliate from the Diadema scuticociliatosis Philaster clade (DaScPc). Since its emergence, this pathogen has spread across the Mediterranean, Red Sea, Arabian Gulf, and western Indian Ocean. Despite identifying the agent responsible, we still lack a fundamental understanding of the oceanographic conditions under which disease emerges, why some urchins are affected and others are not, and how the ciliate behaves in the environment when it is not infecting urchins. This project will investigate how DaScPc, environmental conditions, and the microbiomes of Diadema interact to result in urchin death. By combining field monitoring, laboratory experiments, and molecular approaches, we aim to identify environmental reservoirs, determine growth and transmission conditions, and understand how host-associated microbes shape disease outcomes. These findings will be essential for predicting and potentially mitigating future urchin die-offs, thereby protecting the sensitive coral reef habitats they inhabit. https://www.usf.edu/marine-science/education/prospective-students/how-to-apply.aspx
